Working on trees of different types and sizes in a variety of settings involves important considerations of safety and efficiency. Extended maneuverability, intuitive controls, and smart safety features come together in Leguan spider lifts. This makes them excellent tools for various use cases, including the diverse requirements of tree service professionals.
Arboressence is an Australian professional tree care and management services company founded in 2006. The company operates in Victoria’s North-East and Southern New South Wales, providing its expertise in the management of trees in urban and rural landscapes.
The company has been using the Leguan 225 spider lift since July 2023. Paul Fruzynski, an arborist and climber for Arboressence, has experienced the machine’s utility first-hand.
– The main feature I like about the Leguan is the great usability, so all the automatic functions like return home and return to workstation, the auto-stabilizing legs, it all just makes the job really easy.
Expanding the options
The Leguan 225 has a maximum working height of 22.5 meters and a maximum outreach of 11.2 meters. Thus, it has great reach both vertically and laterally, affording the operator ample leeway without needing to reposition the whole machine. Fruzynski points out that the machine’s reach makes it a lot easier to work on large areas of a tree before having to change the setup. Owing to that extensive reach, the lift allows access into the canopy of a tree and makes it easy to handle the inner deadwood, crossing branches, and so on.
Despite this, the lift is also compact and highly maneuverable, so it will overcome space constraints and difficult terrain for improved usability on challenging job sites. In his work, Fruzynski sees that versatility day in and day out.
– Its compact size makes it quite easy to access tight spaces. We’ve actually used it to get underneath carports to access the backyard, and it’s been very helpful. The tracks make it really easy to transit over different terrain. Accessing different sites with different conditions is really easy.
Safety first
The Leguan 225 has automatic outrigger leveling at the push of a button, automated return home and back-to-work positioning, and intuitive joystick controls. The machine remains firm on uneven terrain, and the boom structure’s advanced hydraulic design enables the lift to respond very smoothly to control inputs without any sudden or unexpected motions.
Fruzynski cites the return home function as enhancing the simplicity of use.
– Once you finish pruning a tree, you just hold down the two buttons and it returns exactly to how it should be, all nice and neatly packed up. You don’t have to worry about the sequence, it does it all automatically.
On top of the stability and the smooth maneuvering, Fruzynski refers to the lift’s good reach as improving safety because it decreases the need for workers to climb tall trees. Another safety feature he notes is the outreach control.
– The outreach control is pretty good in the fact that it’ll start beeping as a pre-warning, and once you’ve reached the limit, it beeps and doesn’t allow you to go any further. It will also retract slightly to get you back to a safer position than what it deems you’re at, so it’s pretty safe that way.
Meanwhile, Fruzynski brings up Leguan’s customer support, which he regards as excellent, as the communication and service from Leguan’s technical support has been impeccable.
Putting it all together, from using the spider lift himself, Fruzynski has come to know the Leguan 225 as a reliable and versatile piece of equipment for Arboressence.
– The Leguan has helped me complete jobs more efficiently and more safely.
